Bluetooth – Pair Bose QuietComfort 35 with Ubuntu Over Bluetooth

16.04bluetoothbluetooth-speakerbluezsound

In System Settings > Bluetooth, the Bose QC 35 is visible when searching for devices but pairing fails.

After multiple attempts and playing with the PIN options I managed to pair it but once selected in System Settings > Sound, it would fail and fall back to Built-in Audio or playback some garbled sound.

Best Answer

It seems the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 does has issues with pairing with Bluetooth LE (Low Energy).

Get back to a clean state

I would recommend to clean up you past attempts to pair:

  • On Ubuntu, remove the headphones from the Bluetooth paired list.
  • On the headphones, hold the switch in Bluetooth pairing position for 10 seconds to delete all paired devices (You'll get a voice confirmation).
  • If you can, deactivate Bluetooth on other surrounding devices to make sure they won't interact.

Deactivate Bluetooth LE

Edit Bluetooth configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Replace:

#ControllerMode = dual

with:

ControllerMode = bredr

Restart Bluetooth:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Pair

  1. Make sure the headphones are in pairing mode.
  2. Pair with System Settings > Bluetooth
  3. Select & test the headphones in System Settings > Sound. You may want to choose High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink) for high playback quality.

Reactivate Bluetooth LE (optional)

As it is only the pairing that has to be done without Bluetooth LE, once it is paired you can go back to the original configuration:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Replace:

ControllerMode = bredr

with:

#ControllerMode = dual

Restart Bluetooth:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Troubleshooting

If you have issues connecting back after disconnecting/rebooting:

  • Make sure you have the computer and Bluetooth turned on before the headphones.
  • If Connection is grayed out in System Settings > Bluetooth, you can use the Bluetooth menu in the menu bar (next to the clock) to do Connection On/Off.
Related Question